the 3.3/3.8 will last as long as you own the van, period

i knew of a 3.3 that went 127miles, with absolutly no oil in it

on my '94 3.3 we did the oil changes in 10-15K intervals, with just average oil & fram filters, then when i got it (about 189K), i did 3K oil changes, because i was able to do them for free at the time

& then the flywheel became cracked, & it kept going (with my hard driving), & eventully the crank couldn't handle the out-of-balance flywheel & the snout snapped off about 20K later, & it STILL RAN!!! just i had no more accesory drive

lets see, besides a few tune ups (wires, plugs) 1 water pump, & then the headgasket (which i turned into a port & mill job on the heads) thats all we did

transmissions (A604/41TE)....are another story, but generally take care of the trans by using +3/+4 fluid, & filter changes, & not doing one wheel burnouts, it generally won't give you any crap

my moms '00 3.3 has 118K on it, the only thing i've done to it (besides for the intake work, & better exhaust) has been oil changes & one tune up, hell that thing hasn't had a trans service yet, which i'll prolly end up doing eventully, but the windows, & other electronics are junk, the 3rd gens really went to crap in quality with the stuff in them

go 2nd gen, or the new 2008s (quality has been reported to be MUCH better), or go home, lol


-greg

 

i see the 3.3 and 3.0 with an excess of 200,000 Km on them at work. they have been maintained quite well from what i have seen. on the other end, i have seen ratty, under appreciated ones barely hit 200 K. it is never a bad idea to keep up with the maintenance that is prescribed in the owners manual. (oil changes, tranny flushes, cooling system flushes, timing belts, wheel alignments...) it helps to keep up the resale value if you can show your receipts to a potential buyer.

 

Why would anyone invest $4000 into trans for a Caravan with 194,000 miles on it??? When my kid wrecked our '96 Voyager, I didn't want to spend $1200 to fix a van with 135,000 miles on it. I bought a '97 Grand Caravan Sport, totally loaded, with 79,000 miles on it for $3000----an excellent value I have to say. I put another $300 into muffler/fluids/belts/plugs and the 3.3 runs great. But if the trans broke, I will lick my wounds and buy another Caravan. No way a trans is worth $4000 !!!

 

$4000 IS a lot of money. Where did that sum come from? I just paid $2500 for a complete rebuild plus remove and replace with all possible updates to the tranny and got a lifetime warranty. After all my problems with my 99 , this was the best deal I've had in a long time, and I used to do all my tranny swaps myself.

 

"computerpulse" (above) said that it what he paid. Sure does seem high for a trans!

 

when the original trans went up in my '94 (before it became mine) we had a shop take care of it, it was only 1500-1700bucks for like a 2 year warrenty & installation

when that finally died, we bought a Mopar unit (about 1500), & me & my dad tackled the job

then it became mine, & when i eventully blew the mopar unit (i kinda hate snow for this reason now) i found a remanned one with only 6K on it for free from a parts van, & i threw that in by myself with ease & along with a high stall converter & never looked back


-greg

 

my dad's grand caravan 3.3 V6 has now 270k km and still runs engine oil is changed every 15k km, some transmission parts were replaced (cost was big - about 800$) but car seems to be healthy (except problem with engine, described by me in another thread)

 

Well, my 97 3.0 now has 225K miles on it, original motor and tranny. I have had more repairs this last year, but they've really been simple maintenance things one would expect on a vehicle of this mileage. The timing belt broke last year, so replaced that. Went ahead and replaced the water pump while we were at it. Have had to replace things like O2 sensors, plugs and wires, a few seals here and there, piddly stuff that costs around 20 bucks and a couple hours. Most major repair to date has been the driver side front halfshaft. Only reason that became major was because the front tranny bracket broke, and the tranny slid back. Was hard as hell to get it back into position and get the halfshaft in right. But, I obviously did it, cause haven't had a lick of trouble since. I do have a couple joints needing replaced now, but that's to be expected in a dusty, humid, rough terrain environment. I love my C'van, and wouldn't trade it for the world.

 

I bought my 93 Grand Sport brand new.
Pretty faithful oil changes every 3k.

Original auto tranny went at 103,000.

I had done brakes 2x, and mostly routine maint. (timing chain, tensioner, plugs, wires, alternator, rear bearings) by then.

At 193,000 the factory reman trans went south. Brakes 2x more, and mostly cosmetic problems (carpet, head liner, fading paint, 1 small rust spot).
I had the trans rebuilt with 2 year warranty.

Drives to good to get rid of it, been paid off for 6-7 years.

I would only consider another Caravan if i bought a new one.